Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich… The best and worst draw for PSG in the quarter-finals

PSG will know their opponent in the quarter-finals of the Champions League on Friday, following the draw.

The traditional thrill of the draw. The fate had been severe for Paris Saint-Germain in the group stage, reserving the toughest group with AC Milan, Borussia Dortmund and Newcastle. Qualified in second place, the Parisians then benefited from a more lenient draw, eliminating Real Sociedad in the round of 16 (2-0, 2-1).

A double draw is being prepared this time, Friday March 15 at noon in Nyon (Switzerland), since the semi-final table will also be defined. Seven opponents are possible for the Parisians: Manchester City, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, ​​Atlético de Madrid, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal. What can PSG supporters hope for, and fear, on Friday?

The worst draw: the Real institution but especially the ogre City

In the game of scaring each other, it is often Real Madrid that acts as the scarecrow. The White House, possible destination for Kylian Mbappé this summer, is necessarily a feared opponent in the Champions League, despite the curiosity that such a meeting would arouse. But the Whites failed to impress against Leipzig in the previous round, and were beaten in last year’s semi-finals by competition winners Manchester City.

Pep Guardiola’s men easily erased Copenhagen in the round of 16, and won all their group stage matches this season for the first time. They advance as favorites to their own succession, with the experience of their coronation and the ambition of the double. The Skyblues machine is undoubtedly the most difficult to stop in Europe, and it has found in Erling Haaland a player who averages one goal per game. The Norwegian, author of 12 goals in 11 C1 matches last season, started on the same basis in 2023-24, with 29 goals in all competitions in 33 appearances.

The Cityzens have not lost since December 6 in the league and since May 4, 2022 in the Champions League. Paris has been eliminated twice by the Mancuniens in the QSI era: in the quarter-finals in 2016, and in the semi-finals in 2021. Their collective strength is no longer in doubt, and the squad has been further strengthened with the arrivals of Jérémy Doku, Josko Gvardiol, Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes this summer.

The best draw: Dortmund, on familiar ground

What if, after Real Sociedad in the round of 16, fate was once again in favor of the Parisians? If the draw reserved the most affordable opponent for them, on paper, PSG would find an opponent they met in the group stage: Borussia Dortmund. The Germans finished at the top of the group, three points ahead of PSG, and defeated PSV Eindhoven, still undefeated in the league, in the round of 16. But they are struggling to perform in the league, already 20 points behind Bundesliga leader Bayer Leverkusen.

Above all, Dortmund has not passed the quarter-finals for more than 10 years, the year of its defeat against Bayern Munich in the final. Paris Saint-Germain already took the temperature of this opponent in the fall, winning 2-0 at home before qualifying thanks to a draw at Signal Iduna Park (1-1). The BVB defense, quite slow, could suffer in the face of the explosiveness of the capital’s attackers. The Parisians would certainly be happy to inherit the Germans rather than Bayern, Arsenal or Atlético de Madrid. But arriving in the quarter-finals of the biggest European competition, the exhilaration of big nights is guaranteed, whatever the bottle.